Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Paula Gloy may have been the most well-known of the Poli Stock Company of 1906. She at least, among other alumni of that stock theatre troupe that performed at the string of Poli theaters in New England, can be traced to other more prestigious roles on Broadway.

Here is a set of promotional postcards published by Sylvester Z. Poli, theatre impresario, to attract audiences, and serve as souvenirs to fans. The obverse:

At some point in that 1906 season, Paula Gloy left for another minor part on Broadway, in the farce “Cousin Louisa.” From the acerbic drama critic (is there any other kind?) of the New York Dramatic Mirror, May 12, 1906:

“Paula Gloy was rather unattractive as Florence, though she extracted some comedy from the situations in the second and third acts.”

Though Paula Gloy left a footprint on Broadway in a string of plays from about 1900 to about 1907, we haven’t too much information on Ruth Blake.

Or the handsome Sidney Irving.

Or this unnamed actor from the 1907 season.

Here is an actress in costume for her role as “Le Domino Rouge”, which played at the Poli’s Springfield, Massachusetts theater the week of January 29, 1906. The play was made into a silent film in 1909.

Here are the players in a candid group shot for Poli’s 1906 company.

We’ll have more next week on the Poli Palace of Springfield, Massachusetts.

In eBook or Paperback

MOVIES IN TIME

Available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Sony, CreateSpace, and a variety of online dealers.

Ames Sword Company

Now in eBook and paperback

Four towns...vanished.

Four towns, gone. Dismantled slowly while their inhabitants grieve for a history and heritage that has been voted away from them. The present threatens; the future belongs to the fearless.
“Beside the Still Waters” is a family saga based on an actual event which displaced four entire towns in central Massachusetts for the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir.
Read "Beside the Still Waters" available as an ebook here from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Smashwords.

Books by Me:

Recent Comments on Past Posts:

The month after Jackie died, I took my three young nieces from Nevada to Hammersmith Farm. It was owned by Camelot Gardens at the time, and was open to the public. Since the Rhode Island schools had not recessed for the summer, we had the entree house and grounds to ourselves for the day. The guides let us go wherever we wished, into Jackie's bedroom, her bathroom, the kitchen, the deck room, and the wonderful sun porch. It remains one of the most memorable days of our lives, since the house was truly a family home, and we felt so welcome. Lynn Shoen

I'm the son of the last owner of Brigham's, Paul F. Fox. He operated the store from about 1948 until it closed in 1970. At that time the store was still somewhat successful, but my father correctly believed that he would have to establish branches in the suburbs as Forbes & Wallace and Stieger's were doing. He did not want to run such a large operation.

Helene Kelly said...Thanks so much to all of you for keeping the 'old downtown Springfield alive. I am the niece of George Legos, the former owner and key cook of the Nuttie Goodie Tearoom. He just passed away this morning at the age of 80 from a long battle with pancreatic cancer. He was a wonderful uncle and a great man. So many people have fond memories of my family's downtown Springfield landmark, the Nuttie Goodie Tearoom. HeleneFebruary17, 2013

Anonymous said...This article is rubbish. I am Rene Gagnon's grandson and this article seems to pull untrue information out of its ass. My grandfather never tried to capitalize on anything, he was never an alcoholic (who writes this stuff?) He wasn't embittered, and he never worked a menial job... in fact he owned a travel agency with my grandmother.May 25, 2012

Just found out by my brother that Rene Arthur Gagnon was my grandmothers uncle..makes me proud to know that I am related to this man...wish I had heard the same stories from my grandmother that my brother did but I was young...my grandmothers name was Lillian Gagne...would love to know more about him and wish she was alive to tell me! Thank you Tammy ChalbeckMay 28, 2012

Val DeGray Orcutt said...This is awesome stuff! Joseph DeGray was my father's great uncle, so his daughter would be some sort of cousin relation to me.I never knew that part of the family was this close to "High Society" :)Thanks for the information!Val DeGray Orcutt

I came across this blog while doing research for my own novel about the Hartford circus fire, HARTFORD 1944. This has proven to be an emotional journey. As I do more research, these people become more real to me. 168 people lost their lives on that terrible July day in 1944. I feel a profound sense of duty to proceed carefully to avoid trivializing their tragic loss by juxtaposition my fictional story against the back-drop of their deaths. This is a story that needs to be told. A uniquely American tragedy equal in scope to the Titanic or Hindenburg—yet it remains largely a forgotten chapter in American history.

I plan to visit Hartford this summer, and your blog Ms. Lynch has inspired me to do so.

Yuki said...Hi, I loved your article. Very informative and well executed. I have 2 Ames Swords and was wondering if you know what year the business was sold to Ohio and who the company was it was sold to? Thanks! Still enjoying your article many years after it was written.September 27, 2013

Thomas Fowler said...Thank you so much for this well researched and interesting article on the Ames family and its swords. We are a Southern family near Danville, and have an Ames non-commissioned officer's sword...captured, of course. This is beautiful research, well presented. Thos. B. Fowler August 27, 2013

Mrs. LaFlamme said...Fascinating article. I grew up in Chicopee and traveled past the old Ames Manufacturing Co. on my way to high school every day. I learned so much from your well documented article.August 16, 2012